Slim Pickings For Singles in One East Bay City

EAST BAY, CA — If you’re looking for love, even when a pandemic is not hampering your search, be happy that you don't live in Fremont, a lousy place to find your soulmate according to a new study by WalletHub, which compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 32 key indicators of dating-friendliness.

The problem in Fremont is a lack of eligible singles. Among the 180 cities, Detroit has the highest share of single people, 74.13 percent, which is two times higher than in Fremont, the city with the lowest at 37.02 percent.

The 2018 U.S. Census Bureau’s estimate of Fremont’s population is 237,807, so there are still thousands of eligible singles, but they may not be the right sex, age, or other preferences.

Besides the number of singles, the study looked at online dating opportunities, the cost of restaurant meals, bottles of wine, movie tickets, and other “date night” expenses. WalletHub found that nationwide, a typical date now costs more than $100.

Overall, Fremont finished 159 out of 181 cities. Oakland was even worse at 167. You may want to head to San Francisco, which fared much better at 41. San Diego is California's highest ranked city at 35.

The 10 Best Cities in the Nation for Singles:

1. Madison, WI
2. Atlanta, GA
3. Denver, CO
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Columbia, SC
6. Fargo, ND
7. Missoula, MT
8. Portland, ME
9. Boise, ID
10. Tempe, AZ

The 10 Worst Cities in the Nation for Singles:

173. Pearl City, HI
174. Modesto, CA
175. Winston-Salem, NC
176. Moreno Valley, CA
177. Hialeah, FL
178. Laredo, TX
179. Warwick, RI
180. Pembroke Pines, FL
181. Brownsville, TX

WalletHub is a personal-finance website. See the full results of the study online.